


The Real Lucifer

by takethisEll



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Comedy, F/M, everyone notices Lucifer is Michael/off before Chloe, feelings reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:22:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25280791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/takethisEll/pseuds/takethisEll
Summary: Chloe's noticed Lucifer's changed, of course she's noticed. But she's relieved he's back, and she attributes his odd behavior to needing time to readjust. But the people around her keep pointing things out, and it's getting harder to rationalize his newfound strangeness.Basically: Everyone figures out that Michael is masquerading as Lucifer before Chloe does
Relationships: Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar
Comments: 4
Kudos: 132





	The Real Lucifer

**Author's Note:**

> This work was born from a text conversation between a friend and I about the trailer that had me so intrigued I had to write it down
> 
> I wrote this at 5 in the morning because insomnia’s a bitch so don’t judge my writing too harshly

Chloe had never been so confused in all her life. Lucifer had come back, and she’d been so relieved, so  _ happy _ , for the first time in what seemed like a long time, even though it had only been a few months. But something had been off about it. Funnily enough, Chloe wasn’t the one who noticed, not at first. She was so caught up in the euphoria of Lucifer’s return that she didn’t see the little signs. Not until Trixie, of all people, pointed it out.

“Something’s weird about Lucifer, Mommy,” she broached the subject one morning over cereal, before Lucifer was due to arrive at the apartment to work on a case.

“What do you mean, Monkey?”

“Last night, during Monopoly?” Lucifer had come over for a game of Monopoly, for which Chloe had been too distracted by the hand rubbing soothing circles on her back to pay much attention to the game itself, causing Trixie to sinch a win in a record hour and a half.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“He called me ‘Trixie’.”

Chloe snorted, brushing her daughter off. “Well that’s your  _ name _ , silly.”

“But Lucifer never calls me by my name. It’s usually ‘small human’, or ‘urchin’. Never ‘Trixie’,” the youngster pointed out, crossing her arms for effect.

Chloe opened her mouth to protest, but quickly shut it upon realizing that Trixie was right. Lucifer always had some kind of playful nickname for her child, like “offspring”, “minx”, or “parasite”, but never had Trixie’s name passed through his lips in Chloe’s memory.

“Uh, maybe he just missed us so much that he forgot to tease you last night, babe.”

Trixie harumphed in annoyance, and would’ve protested further, had Maze not emerged from her room to take Trixie to school on her way to Linda’s, and to give Chloe and Lucifer “some much needed grown up time,” as she’d explained to Trixie with a wink in Chloe’s direction, to which she gained an exasperated eye roll (and a small embarrassed smirk) in response.

***

Chloe had forgotten all about it, or had perhaps been in denial over it, until the subject was brought up again by Maze the following week.

“Okay, Lucifer is acting super weird, and I don’t like it.”

Chloe snorted. “What’d he do, steal your poptarts? I can’t imagine the food was great in Hell, he’s probably reacclimating.”

“No - well, yeah, actually he did steal some of my poptarts, but that’s not what I’m talking about! He’s just… off,” Maze trailed off, somewhat unconvincingly in Chloe’s opinion, who scoffed to portray her disbelief.

“No, seriously! He like, smells weird; not like Lucifer.”

Chloe frowned. She had noticed that herself when he first came back. In fact, she had even made a point of asking about it. Lucifer brushed it off, claimed that his favorite cologne had stopped manufacturing. And since Lucifer never lied as a virtue, Chloe hadn’t felt the need to check for herself. She might have to consider it now…  _ No, that’s ridiculous _ , she scolded herself.  _ He’s given no good reason not to trust him, don’t ruin this with baseless paranoia! _

Outwardly, Chloe shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She regarded Maze, “I’m sure everything is fine, he’s just finding his footing again.” Maze groaned in response, but acquiesced for the time being.

***

Chloe had yet again let her concerns slip from her mind, until just four days later, when the Tribe was going out for their weekly drink, and Ella brought it up again.

“Does anyone else think Lucifer is acting weird?”

Chloe groaned. “Not this again,” she whined (not that she’d ever admit to whining, not in a million years), as Maze slapped the bar with a resounding “Thank you!”

“What makes you think something’s off?” Linda inquired, ever sagely. She was the designated driver, since she was still nursing, and thus was the only one completely sober. Chloe ordered another round; she was going to need to be much drunker to deal with this line of questioning yet again.

Ella gave a small, almost imperceptible (except to Linda’s trained eye) shudder. “His hugs… they’re just not right. Like, his arms are in different places and they feel wrong and not like him at all. And he smells different?”

Maze repeated her actions from Ella’s first inquiry, while Chloe rolled her eyes at her antics and repeated Lucifer’s explanation about the cologne.

“Well, okay, but that still leaves the hug!”

“He’s been gone awhile, maybe he’s just tense and needs to get used to physical affection again. He didn’t have much of that in He- I mean, when he was away,” Chloe reasoned.

“I don’t know, I’ve noticed something off, too.”

Chloe groaned again. “Linda, not you too!” she protested.

“He doesn’t talk to me quite like he did in our sessions, or before. And the other day, he soothed Charlie in less than thirty seconds! And he was so smooth about it; Lucifer is so awkward around children.”

Chloe opened her mouth to protest, but was seized by the realization that her friends were right. Linda’s the one that really got to her; Lucifer wasn’t bad with children, just more endearingly awkward, but in terms of “smoothly” soothing infants - well, that was just impossible.

Finally, Chloe resolved to find out the truth.

***

It took a month and a half, but finally Chloe felt that she had enough evidence to confront Lucifer about his strange behavior the last few months. She’d given him the benefit of the doubt for awhile, attributing his behavior to recovery and readjustment after his time in Hell, which she’d gathered from Amenadiel was centuries, as opposed to the physical world’s several months. So after she wrapped up some paperwork and dropped Trixie at Dan’s for the weekend, she set off for Lux.

Upon arriving at the penthouse, Chloe stumbled upon a scenario that had, until now, only existed in wine-influenced dreams after Tribe nights: there were two Lucifers standing before her. They were arguing, and the names “Michael” and “Samael” were being tossed back and forth. Chloe had never been more confused in all her life. Suddenly, they both seemed to register her presence at the same time. One of them stepped towards her, while the other lunged at the first, yelling to keep away from her.

Chloe, in her distress, pulled her gun (though her safety was on, but neither of them needed to know that), pointing it back and forth between the two Lucifers. “I demand to know what the fuck is going on?!”

The second Lucifer, the one that had lunged at the other, spoke first. “Detective, meet my twin brother, the Archangel Michael.” His tone was laced with venomous disdain and fury.

The other Lucifer - or was it Michael? - became indignant. “No, Chloe, don’t listen to him.  _ I’m _ Lucifer, and  _ he’s _ the pretender. Michael has always been jealous, and wanted to steal and ruin my life!”

“But it’s not  _ your _ life, is it,  _ Michael _ ?!” the other Lucifer/Michael raged.

“God, now I’m even more confused,” Chloe muttered.

“Please don’t bring Dad into this,” both Lucifers/Michaels pleaded simultaneously.

Chloe’s gun still switching positions, between pointing at one and pointing at the other, Chloe tightened her grip and yelled for them to get down on the floor. They both took a kneeling position. One of them scooted forward, his hands together in a prayer motion. But it wasn’t God to whom he was praying. It was her.

“Chloe, love, please. We’ve been so happy.  _ I’ve _ been so happy, truly happy, for the first time in my long existence. I cherish every second with you, love every bit of you. Those nights spent playing board games and watching silly movies with Trixie are the highlight of my life. You, our little family we’ve carved out for ourselves, it’s the most important thing in creation. I love you. The thought of you, of getting back to you, is the only thing that got me through the eternity I spent in Hell, ple-”

Chloe cut him off, shooting him though the heart.  _ That’s fitting _ , she thought bitterly.

Lucifer dropped from his knees to a sitting position, his legs out in front of him, in shock as he stared at Michael’s corpse. He looked up at Chloe in wonder.

“How did you know he was Michael and I was the real Lucifer?”

Chloe scoffed.

“The real Lucifer would never talk to me about his feelings.”


End file.
